Chapter 118: The Space Administration's Troubles and Longyin's

The noise of the equipment handover ceremony's celebration banquet had not yet completely dissipated, and the Longyin Research Institute was still filled with an atmosphere of mixed celebration and pride.

Feng Yan stood in front of his office window, looking at the training ground below.

The newly promoted "Dragon Rider" team members were still enthusiastically familiarizing themselves with their new vehicles, the low engine roar of the steel giants.

Hearing it in his ears was more heart-stirring than any symphony.

However, this relaxed atmosphere of internal celebration was soon broken by a formal visitor notification from the highest level.

"National Space Administration's special delegation?" Feng Yan looked at the schedule handed over by Lin, his brows slightly raised.

"The specifications are very high. The leader is Chief Engineer Qi Yuanguang, one of the leading figures in the field of manned spaceflight and space stations."

"Yes, President Feng." Lin nodded.

"The notification mentions technical exchange and cooperation negotiations, but judging by the other side's tone, they are quite urgent."

Feng Yan was thoughtful upon hearing this.

The Space Administration and Longyin, one focused on looking up at the starry sky, the other previously deeply engaged in the earth—there hasn't been much business intersection.

For the other side to send such a high-spec team at this point in time, this matter is definitely not ordinary.

He immediately summoned core members such as Li Yang, Wang Hao, and Chen Guang.

"Space Administration? What are they looking for us for?" Wang Hao still had a toothpick in his mouth, his eyes lighting up upon hearing this.

"Could it be that they saw our 'Somersault Cloud' flying smoothly and want to find us to cooperate on manned moon landings?"

Li Yang was more pragmatic: "Our technical accumulation is mainly in individual soldier platforms, near-earth mobility, and AI coordination; the matching degree with the Space Administration's system engineering requirements still needs to be evaluated."

Chen Guang silently pulled up the near-earth orbit debris distribution map and public data related to our space station, seemingly performing information storage in advance.

Feng Yan tapped the table: "Stop guessing. If it's a blessing, it's not a curse; if it's a curse, you can't hide from it."

"Haozi, throw away that toothpick of yours, pay attention to your image; you're a director now, after all."

"Old Li, prepare our technical briefing on the ground equipment system, especially modular design and AI control systems."

"Guangzi, you also sort out the public information on space station robotic arms and rocket recovery."

"They are the elites in the 'National Space Administration,' after all; we can't show weakness, we have to bring out some real stuff."

The meeting was arranged in the newly built, quite futuristic Comprehensive Conference Center of the Research Institute.

When Chief Engineer Qi Yuanguang led several capable space experts in, Feng Yan immediately felt a pressure completely different from the battlefield-hardened Brigade Commander Gao.

That was the calm and profound aura belonging to top scholars and engineering masters.

Chief Engineer Qi was about sixty years old, his hair combed meticulously, his eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses sharp and deep, and his handshake was full of strength.

Both sides exchanged simple pleasantries and took their seats, without too much foreshadowing, Chief Engineer Qi went straight to the theme.

"President Feng, colleagues of Longyin, first of all, congratulations on your amazing achievements in the field of individual soldier mobility platforms."

Chief Engineer Qi's opening remarks were very polite, but his tone didn't reveal much joy, instead carrying a trace of irrepressible fatigue.

"We are here this time, not to give orders, but to use the words of young people now, to 'pour out bitterness'."

He signaled his assistant to open the projection, and a complex configuration map of the China Space Station and a genealogy map of the Long March series of rockets were presented.

"Our space system, through the efforts of several generations, has already ranked among the forefront of the world." Chief Engineer Qi's voice was steady, but every word carried weight.

"It is huge, precise, and reliable. But what follows is high costs, long R&D cycles, and fixed launch windows."

"A major mission, from project initiation to launch, is often calculated in years."

"Every launch affects the hearts of hundreds of millions of citizens and cannot afford any mistakes."

He changed the subject and pulled up a few blurry satellite images, on which certain foreign rapid-response small satellite orbital parameters were marked.

"However, the space environment is changing."

"Certain countries, relying on their commercial space companies, have begun to possess capabilities for rapid network replenishment, emergency launches, and even... orbital confrontation."

"They can use low-cost, fast-paced methods to deliver large amounts of payloads to near-earth orbit in a short time."

"Whether for communication, reconnaissance, or other purposes we don't want to see."

"And we," Chief Engineer Qi pushed up his glasses, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face.

"Are like a well-equipped but slow-turning giant ship, facing these nimble and fast 'small boats,' appearing a bit passive."

"Responding to sudden needs, such as critical satellite failure requiring rapid network replenishment, or emergency launch of reconnaissance payloads to respond to sudden space situations—our existing system is not up to the task."

His gaze swept over Feng Yan and others, finally landing on Feng Yan's face: "Through Longyin's formal upgrade to a national-level research institute, we noticed you."

"Your 'rapid iteration' capability, 'cost control' level, and the idea of deeply integrating advanced AI with complex mechanical systems."

"Let us see another possibility in the space field."

Feng Yan's heart moved, keenly capturing the key information.

This is not a specific "project" tender, but an opportunity to seek "new track" cooperation!

"Chief Engineer Qi, do you mean..." Feng Yan leaned forward slightly, his tone cautious and serious.

"We have two preliminary ideas, hoping to explore the possibility of cooperation with Longyin." Chief Engineer Qi held up two fingers.

"First, design a new generation of large robotic arms for our next-generation space station."

"It needs to be smarter, more flexible, more powerful, and even... possess certain on-orbit autonomous operation and upgrade capabilities. We call it the 'Dragon Claw' project internally."

"Second," he paused, his gaze turning to Wang Hao, who was clearly unable to sit still, his eyes shining.

"We learned about Director Wang Hao's technical accumulation in low-cost propulsion and vertical recovery."

"We hope to cooperate with Longyin to jointly develop a low-cost, high-reliability commercial launch vehicle, with the goal of significantly reducing launch costs and increasing launch frequency."

"We call it the 'Blue Sky' project."

"Wow—" Wang Hao almost jumped out of his chair, pressed down on his thigh by Li Yang beside him without a trace.

It hurt him so much he bared his teeth, but the ecstasy on his face couldn't be suppressed at all.

Li Yang was burning with gaze, staring at the installation points of the robotic arm on the space station configuration map.

Countless thoughts flashed through Feng Yan's mind instantly.

The ground mech mass production line is running at full capacity, the "Dragon Rider" guard has just been formed, and resources and manpower are stretched thin.

But at the same time, he also saw an unprecedented opportunity—to expand Longyin's influence from the blue planet to the boundless starry sky!

This is not only a recognition of Longyin's technical strength, but also an excellent opportunity to define the future space development model.

He took a deep breath, did not answer whether to cooperate immediately, but asked back:

"Chief Engineer Qi, the Space Administration possesses the country's top R&D power and industrial foundation, why choose us?"

"Is it just because of cost and speed?"

Chief Engineer Qi looked at Feng Yan deeply and said slowly: "Because of 'thinking'."

"Your thinking is not bound by the traditional space system."

"You dare to use modular, AI-driven, and even... 'local method' ways to solve problems that we think require huge system engineering to overcome."

"The future of space exploration requires not only rigorous 'orthodoxy,' but sometimes also a little 'wild way' that breaks the rules."

"And you, happen to be best at this."

He paused, his tone deepening: "More importantly, we hope that through cooperation, we can break the blockade and price monopoly of foreign countries in certain key technologies."

"Truly lower the threshold for entering space, so that space resources can better serve national strategy and national economic development."

Feng Yan scanned his team, seeing Wang Hao's almost overflowing excitement, Li Yang's challenging desire in his eyes.

Chen Guang's lips moving while silently calculating, and Zhao Gong's posture of nodding slightly although expressionless.

"Chief Engineer Qi," Feng Yan stood up, his tone steady and powerful.

"Thank you for the Space Administration's trust in Longyin. The 'Dragon Claw' project and the 'Blue Sky' project, we accept!"

He scanned everyone and finally looked at Chief Engineer Qi: "We at Longyin are honored to participate in this great cause.

We dare not say that we will definitely meet all expectations, but we can guarantee that we will use all our passion and wisdom to meet this challenge."

"Our goal is not to learn and imitate existing models." Feng Yan's voice was not high, but carried an unquestionable firmness.

"We are here to break the game, to walk out a space road that is different from others."

Wang Hao finally couldn't help it, slammed the table, and shouted excitedly: "Awesome! Build rockets!"

"I can finally play with the big stuff in a justified way!"

The heavy atmosphere in the conference room was instantly broken, and the space experts also couldn't help but laugh.

Chief Engineer Qi revealed the first sincere smile of the day, pointing at Wang Hao and saying to Feng Yan:

"President Feng, it seems that your Director Wang has already entered the state."

Li Yang rubbed his temples helplessly and whispered to Wang Hao: "Haozi, restrain yourself."

Wang Hao didn't care at all, rubbing his hands, his eyes shining as he leaned toward the rocket expert brought by Chief Engineer Qi, already starting to gesture and ask:

"That... Chief Qi, does our 'Blue Sky' rocket plan to use a cluster of several 'Dragon Core' vector engines in the first stage?"

"Can the design of the recovery legs refer to our 'Jing-An' hydraulic buffer legs?" ===== CHAPTER 119 =====